by Tamara White
Talon has the knife in his right hand, the cup in his left and places himself directly in front of me, his breath fanning out over my chest sending goose bumps over my skin. I look up into his eyes, the green darkening and his eyes dilating as he reaches up caressing the skin before positioning the knife at the top of my breast, right near my heart. “This will only hurt for a moment,” he murmurs, before slicing the knife quickly before I can object. Blood wells at the small cut and I watch fascinated as it dribbles into the cup. Once the bottom of it is covered, it starts swirling turning lighter and lighter until it’s pure white.
The woman steps forward to inspect the contents. Once satisfied with what she sees, she turns to face the crowd, “The blood is pure. She is our long-lost princess!”
The coven goes completely nuts. Vampires are laughing, crying and cheering in joy. It’s cool to see. I look back at Talon who is still holding the cup to my chest as the cut heals over my breast but he’s not looking at my face. He’s watching the rise and fall of my chest as the blood slowly trails down. His green eyes, have darkened with lust.
He snaps out of it gently pulling the cup away and reaching for the piece of cloth my father holds out, wiping the remaining blood away. The cut has healed and left no memory of what had just happened. The look in his eyes will forever live with me.
After the cheers die down, my father steps up beside my mother, “Thank you for your support, tonight. It means a lot to us that you are willing to welcome our daughter into the coven, just as you did me, all those years ago. I ask that you treat Emerald as one of our own and help her understand our ways. I truly believe she will make a wonderful addition to the coven. Now, let’s have some fun,” he says winking out at the coven. A few laughs are shared before the music starts up again, signalling the party is back into full swing.
My parents and I join Talon, Nik, Dev, and Heather over at the side of the room. Talon must have walked away when my parents were speaking. As I reach them, I’m scooped into a hug by Nik. “See, everything was good. I told you it would be fine. What would you like to do now?” he whispers in my ear, holding me close.
I breathe in his delicious scent, knowing I’m too exhausted for anything. “Can we go to bed? I’m exhausted.”
Nik strokes my back in a soothing gesture, “Of course we can.” He turns to my father, “Ax, I’m taking Em back to our room. We’ll see you in the morning. Dev, you coming?”
“Sure. Let’s get her out of here,” he grabs hold of my hand, leading me out. Nik is holding my other hand and as we leave, I see Talon watching me from the side. He watches me with a heat that should be reserved for his girlfriend, not someone he doesn’t want a soul-tie with. Heather’s with him, and you can tell there’s tension, but a part of me just doesn’t care. He’s a big boy. He needs to decide what he wants, not pretend like he has no choice in the whole thing. I don’t have the energy to deal with that mess.
All I want is to go to bed and sleep away the rest of the night. No more drama. That’s what I need. I have a feeling though, that things are only going to get more complicated from here.
The sound of angry whispering jars me from my sleep. My brain registers Dev’s voice in its sleep-filled haze, “It’s your fault. You chose Heather. Even after what she tried to do to Em yesterday, you would rather be with her over us!” His voice contains a harshness that I haven’t really heard in Dev before.
Knowing he’s talking to Talon, I open my eyes enough to see them across from Nik’s bed. Nik’s body tenses and his arm around my waist tightens as I move to get a better view. He’s awake and listening too.
“Do you really think I had a choice? I’ve been with Heather for five years, Dev. Five! What kind of man would either of them see me as if I just upped and left Heather because of my soul-tie? Heather would hate me and think I was a coward, and Emerald would always wonder if I would up and leave her for someone else. You don’t think it killed me to hear her say how much she cared about me or that she wanted me to fuck her, when that’s what goes through my mind every time I see her?!”
He pauses panting, before continuing on his rant, “I see the way her hips sway, the way her eyes sparkle when she’s trying to irritate me or make me smile. I still feel the way she was sucking at my skin. I get hard just thinking about it! I want to be with her so badly, to wrap her in my arms and show her that she is the brightest light I’ve met in my life but, I just can’t leave Heather high and dry. Heather knows there’s no love between us, there never has been. We were only ever together out of convenience. She needed someone to care for her, and I wanted to have someone to care for. I promised her back then I wouldn’t ever leave her, and I’m not breaking that promise. Even if it kills me every day for the rest of my life to see you and Nik making the woman I want, happy. I hate it! But if I can’t be with her, then I’m glad she’s with the two people I trust most in this world. As it is, Ax and Sierra want me training her, so I will be seeing her every day until our training is finished. And who knows how long that will take,” he groans. I watch him sit down on his bed, defeat clear in his face.
I had no idea just what this soul-tie was doing to him. I just assumed he wanted to be with Heather, that he wouldn’t want me. But no, he’s actually worried about my opinion of him for backing out of a long-term relationship so suddenly. Oh sure, under different circumstances, there would be that little piece of doubt in the back of my mind over whether he would leave me, but that’s there in most relationships. You just have to work through it with your partner and let them know when those fears are too strong.
Why hasn’t he said something? Why is she making him stick to such a ridiculous agreement when he has met his soul-tie? Wouldn’t she expect to be released from their deal if she met her soul-tie?
This is just way too confusing. All I want to do is leap from the bed and tell him I don’t think any less of him for leaving her, but that I am more than willing to wait until he’s ready. But I can’t, I know that will just make things worse for all of us.
Dev coughs, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck sheepishly. Obviously, he thought the same way I did. “Shit, man, why didn’t you tell us? Better yet, why haven’t you told Em? You know she wouldn’t hold you to the tie if she knows your reasons. Plus, I think she’d find it hotter that you were being more of a man for keeping to your responsibilities.”
Talon sighs, heaving himself off the bed, “I can’t ever tell her. Not because I don’t want to, but because Heather begged me not to. She’s afraid the coven would judge her if they knew about our fake relationship. Sierra already suspects, so if I come right out and say it, she’ll know we’ve been lying about our relationship for years. As it is, Ax already knows that Heather sleeps with whoever she wants, while I remain faithful. You have no idea how much harder that has been with Em here. Five years without the touch of a woman, then she stayed in my bed that first night, and I almost caved. She is so fucking irresistible, it’s not even fair!” he groans, grabbing stuff from his drawers and throwing them angrily into a bag on the floor.
“So wait, she can fuck whoever she wants but you’ve been celibate this entire time?” Dev asks shocked. Thank god he asked because even I wanted to know. Judging by the tension in Nik’s body behind me, he’s just as eager to know the answer.
“Uh, kind of. It’s just been me and my five best friends,” he says, holding up his hand. Oh god. I get what he’s saying, but I don’t quite believe it.
Dev, however, is completely clueless. “But you just said you were celibate? I thought we were your best friends, and I know I haven't been helping you get yourself off, are you saying you and Nik? And who else?”
Nik suppresses his laughter, which sets me off, requiring me to bite my tongue to stop from laughing. We’re both trying to maintain the ruse that we’re fast asleep, but Dev is making that next to impossible. How does he not know what Talon’s talking about?
Talon shakes his head annoyed, “God no! Nik has been nowhere
near my dick you idiot! I’ve been shining my own flagpole.” When Dev still doesn’t respond, he explains further, “I’ve been fucking masturbating you idiot!” he growls, his voice rising in anger at having to explain something so simple.
My chest is roaring with fire from keeping the laughter in. Nik is helping me control myself by keeping his hand over my mouth, stopping any sound from coming out. It’s just so funny that Dev has no idea what Talon is talking about.
Finally, it all comes together in his mind. “Ohhhhhh. Wow, Seriously? For five years? No women at all? Not even Heather?” Dev asks, apparently horrified by the thought.
Talon shakes his head annoyed at Dev’s obliviousness, picks up his fully packed bag and leaves the room, Dev following after him. They murmur between each other before we hear the door close. Dev comes back in shortly after, climbing into the bed with Nik and me, effectively sandwiching me between the two of them. It’s so comfortable I almost drift back to sleep, but the need to talk about Talon is overwhelming me.
Nik breaks the silence first, “So, uh, I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Ha, you’re telling me. I thought he was fucking her from the day they met. I never would have dreamed he was abstaining for her. Or that he wasn’t in love with her,” Dev says awed.
I agree with them. He seems like a very sexually active guy, so it shocked me that he wasn’t getting laid, when Heather was. I know I would in his position. Screw playing with myself when there’s plenty of willing people in the world. “I don’t know how he’s handled it. Like seriously? If I had to go without sex for five years, I think I’d go insane. Well, ok, maybe not insane but I’d be extremely crabby,” I admit. Silence greets me and it clicks, “Oh, so that’s why he’s a douche. Holy crap, this makes so much sense. He just needs to get himself to pound town,” I grin, letting the images dance in my mind.
“Oh no you don’t. Don’t go acting all sex-craved, little vixen, around him or he will probably explode and take it out on the rest of us. Respect his wishes. He needs to come to terms with everything before you push your sexy, little body on him. Now, we need to get some rest. We have a meeting in a few hours, and apparently, you have some training,” Nik says, pulling me closer against him as if there isn’t only an inch separating us.
Dev cuddles closer in front of me, “He’s right. As much as I want to satisfy your needs right now, Em, we have things to do in a couple hours. We don’t want you to be exhausted and smelling of sex, especially when you’ll be training with Talon,” he says, sighing in contentment.
“OK you guys are right. Let’s get some sleep,” I sigh, letting myself melt into the comfort of their arms and drift back off to sleep.
***
Dev, Nik and I are making our way to the underground training facility in silence. Dev has been quiet most of the morning, still thinking about what Talon said last night but Nik is already chiding me before I’ve done anything wrong. “Make sure you don’t say anything. He obviously doesn’t want to talk about it or he would have said something to you so just leave it alone, ok?”
I roll my eyes, annoyed at being treated like a child who can’t keep a secret. “I’ll try but no promises. If he says something, then I’m not going to let the opportunity pass me by.” Though, I really hope it’s mentioned because I have a burning desire to talk about it and add my two cents.
The elevator dings and the doors open ominously, making me doubt that this is a good idea. But how bad could training with Talon be? I had to deal with Jeremy growing up. Surely, Tal’s not as bad.
Hands touch my back, and I lean into the feel of the guys only to have them both shove me out the elevator door. I turn to glare, seeing the door close as they wave. Bastards. I thought I would get a pep talk at least.
I walk down the path, ready to face my doom. Ok, that’s a bit dramatic. He’s just a vampire. A very sexy vampire, who hasn’t had sex in five years and wants to fuck me, but can’t because of stupid chivalry and honor. How tough can it be?
Way to jinx myself! I feel a shift in the air and an unknown energy rushes through me before I see him standing there, dressed head to toe in black clothes and looking as intimidating as hell. His green eyes are sparked with an anger that has me faltering in my steps. He’s not just angry, he’s pissed.
“Um, hi! Sorry if I’m late. The guys got me up, dressed, fed, and brought me straight here,” I ramble, a little uneasy about being around him in this mood.
He stares at me a moment, before grunting and gesturing for me to follow him. “Go in the shed, get changed into the work out gear I set out for you, then come back out here and stretch,” he demands without a backward glance.
I do as he says, heading into the shed and rushing to get dressed. There’s a pair of black yoga pants and a pale blue crop top waiting for me. I glance at myself in the mirror, nervous to be showing so much skin around Talon. I mean, not to be conceited, but I look damn good, and this won’t be helping his promise to Heather.
I walk back outside and fidget nervously, waiting for him to notice me. He’s pacing back and forth over by the training arena, muttering under his breath.
“Uh, I’m ready?” I say, with a complete lack of conviction. I don’t think I could ever be ready to face off with an angry vampire.
He stops his pacing to stare at me, his mouth dropping open in shock, making me blush. It’s nice to be noticed but I don’t want to belittle his promise with Heather. Maybe I should have put a shirt on over the bra? Oh well too late now. We both just have to deal with it.
Talon clears his throat, gaining use of his mind again. “So, My King and Queen would like me to teach you how to defend yourself against one of us. From what I saw in the motel, you were pretty good considering you had four attackers, but we need you to be prepared for any attacks from someone in the coven. My King would also like me to test your abilities to see what powers you may not have uncovered. After all you’ve only just started discovering who you are. There may be talents we don’t know of.”
“Why are we doing this?” I ask after his brief explanation. Something isn’t quite making sense about all of this.
He tilts his head confused, “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re training me to defend against vampire attack, but aren’t all the coven members allies? At least all the ones I’ve met so far are. So, why would you need to train me against vampires? And what kind of ‘talents’ are you talking about?” I ask.
He stares at me, the corner of his lip twitching as if he wants to smile but is holding it back. “Honestly, I thought the same thing until I remembered, you’re not one of us. You may be a mix of our King and Queen but you are neither vamp nor wolf, you’re something new. Something never before seen among us. That makes you a target. Not to mention your beast. Once it gets around how big and powerful she is, it will have people slightly terrified even if you are pretty calm and are able to keep control. People always fear what they don’t know which is why my Queen is waiting until all the coven leaders are gathered before revealing her. They have to be first to know because it will influence how the rest of the members will see you. And as for your talents, well that differs from each vampire. It could be the ability to block scent like me, be extremely faster than normal like Dev or even be able to cloak yourself or even make yourself invisible, like Nik. Each power presents itself differently and you are more than likely going to have a few based purely on who your mother is. The royal line always has multiple talents. Now, if you’ve finished asking questions, I would like to finish this lesson sometime today.” He drops to the ground to stretch out, touching his toes in a show of flexibility that leaves me a little jealous. I can only reach my shins.
After we’ve spent several minutes stretching every limb that we may use, he gets up and dances on the balls of his feet. “Now, I’m going to warn you, I may not be as fast as Dev, but I’m a close second,” he says smugly before completely disappearing in front of my eyes. Where the hell did he go?
>
Hands wrap around my waist, and I feel his breath on my ear. “You need to feel your surroundings. I moved behind you straight away, and you didn’t even turn. You were too distracted about where I went.” He squeezes my waist for a fraction of a second, then his hands are gone. “I want to try something. Close your eyes.”
I do as he says, waiting for his next instruction.
His hands grip my own and the next I can feel us moving. It feels as if we’re gliding. “Can you feel the air shift around us as we move? When a vampire uses their speed, you will feel every shift in the wind as they come at you. Anticipate where the wind is coming from. That’s how you fight us. Shifters are instinctual,” he whispers against my ear as we move. It’s impossible to tell how fast we’re moving, but the wind makes me feel like we’re going a lot faster than possible.
“Well, isn’t this cute!” Heather’s voice cuts through the haze Talon and I had fallen into. We both jerk apart, surprised to see her. Especially Talon.
“What are you doing down here? The training facility is off limits for the next hour,” he says, confusion clear in his voice.
She glances at me before walking into his arms and kissing him passionately. He doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t exactly resist. Heather breaks away, wiping her lipstick off the corner of Talon’s lips, a small smirk on her face, “I just wanted to see if you needed any blood. I brought some down for you too, Emerald,” she says sweetly, holding out a blood bag.
“Uh, thanks. I’ll go drink it in the changing room and give you guys some privacy,” I grab the outstretched bag and hurry off to leave them to it. Knowing what I now know, if I stick around, my big mouth is going to get me into trouble.
I sit down and look at the bag in my hand tempted to have some. I’m starving already, but it’s still hard to tell if it’s for food or blood. After the last time, I’m scared to throw it all up again and go crazy with hunger. My beast could escape and with Heather out there, I know who her first target would be. I consider trying to get Nik or Dev to come down so I can feed from them but it feels foolish to call them down like servants for me to feed from. There’s no other option but to drink what I’ve got. I can’t exactly go out there and ask Talon to open a vein for me.